Memorial Bridge Needs $250 Million in Repairs to Stay Open Past 2021, Feds Say

Steve Burns

WASHINGTON – (WMAL) The Arlington Memorial Bridge could close by 2021 without major repair work, the National Park Service told elected representatives during a tour Monday.

The 84-year-old bridge has seen minor work done over the years, but no major renovation, and may need to be shut down to cars in five years without it.

“2021 is not that far away, and the bridge will close unless we get the funds to do the reconstruction,” Virginia Senator Mark Warner told reporters following a tour of the bridge’s deteriorating underbelly. “It was built for a 75-year lifespan. The bridge is 84 years old.”

“You’re talking about rust on the major beams that hold up the bridge. You have concrete that is crumbling,” Senator Tim Kaine said Monday. “That’s not an exception. That’s basically the condition below the asphalt.”

The National Parks Service, which maintains the bridge, is asking for $250 million in funding to get major repair work done that will allow the bridge to function for another 75 years. $150 million of that would come by way of a federal FASTLANE grant.

NPS stresses, however, that the bridge remains safe to drive on today, as it is one of the most-inspected bridges in the nation. The major reconstruction would last about two years, NPS says, and would not necessitate a full closure.

“It’s a six-lane bridge. You might have four lanes closed,” Warner said. “It’ll be a challenge, but it wouldn’t be the disaster that would come about if we actually had to close it.”

Both Senators and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser agreed the Memorial Bridge, connecting the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington Cemetery, is emblematic of the country’s infrastructure challenges as a whole.

“Over the last 30 years, we’ve cut investment in infrastructure in half as a percent of our overall economy,” Warner said.

“You go and visit other countries and you see the extent of infrastructure investments, it makes you a little embarrassed here,” Kaine said. “New stuff is more interesting than maintaining the old stuff.”

The Arlington Memorial Bridge opened in 1932. It was ordered by President Warren G. Harding in 1921 after his motorcade got stuck in a three-hour traffic jam on his way to the dedication ceremony for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery.

(Photo: CNN)